Military says it’s not crowding out the private sector

Military says it’s not crowding out the private sector: The Military Production Ministry is not competing with the private sector, said minister Mohamed El Assar in a sit down with the press, Al Ahram reports. The ministry works alongside the private sector and compliments its role, he added, noting that 75% of the ministry’s projects come in partnership with the private sector. Some 41 major projects are being implemented in cooperation with private companies, he added. El Assar said the ministry’s top priority is to manufacture goods for use by the Egyptian military. His media availability came after a series of stories in the international press have drawn attention to what some claim is the the military’s expanding role in the economy. Most notable of these was a year-long Reuters investigation and, most recently, a long recap of the issue from the Wall Street Journal.